(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an oil cooler mounting unit for an automatic transmission.
(b) Description of the Related Art
A heat exchanger, called an oil cooler, is typically used to cool engine oil or transmission fluid in a vehicle. In an oil cooler for an automatic transmission, transmission fluid, also called oil herein for simplicity, is cooled in a radiator core.
In a down-flow radiator, as opposed to a cross-flow radiator, a coolant pipe is disposed within a lower tank of the radiator, and is connected to a coolant supply pipe and/or coolant return pipe by an oil cooler mounting unit.
A conventional oil cooler mounting unit includes a connecting pipe attached perpendicularly to an end of the coolant pipe. The connecting pipe has a screw thread on its external surface. The connecting pipe is inserted through a mounting hole of the lower tank and attached with a nut. The coolant supply pipe or coolant return pipe is engaged with an end of the connecting pipe with an additional nut.
The screw thread of the connecting pipe may be easily damaged by corrosion. To solve this, the connecting pipe is sometimes made of brass instead of aluminum, but brass is costly. Also, air-tightness between the connecting pipe and the supply or return pipe is not reliable.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.